PENNS GROVE — A school bond referendum will be on the ballot this November as the Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District is asking for permission to borrow money to fund upgrades to the district's school buildings.

The district recently got approved for a total of 11 projects through a New Jersey Department of Education Regular Operating District grant program that would include at least some work at all of the district's schools, according to district business administrator Brian Ferguson.

Penns Grove Middle School is in need of the most dire repairs, Ferguson said. The school was built in 1935, and Ferguson said its heating system, roof and windows all need work.

"It needs extensive work," he said.

The school operates on steam heating, which Ferguson said is inefficient and fluctuates drastically depending on the area within the school.

"It might be really hot in the lower levels, but on the top floor, it's almost so cold that people have to put coats on," Ferguson said. "The project would replace heating and ventilation there and put in hot water heating which is much more efficient."

Many of the upgrades are related to improving efficiency of the buildings, and Ferguson said that could pay off later when it comes to utility bills.

"The work at the middle school, putting in new windows, repointing the bricks... they will stop air from getting in," he said.

Replacing heating and air conditioning systems will be one of the major aspects of the project. Ferguson said they want to improve air quality in the schools and make them more comfortable for students and more conducive to learning.

The middle school needs to upgrade its technological capabilities and bathroom facilities.

Ferguson said some safety improvements would be made to the schools, including replacing outdated doors at the middle school.

"Some are in bad shape," he said. "It's become a security issue."

The whole project is expected to cost about $19 million. Grant money would pay for $13.5 million and $550,000 would come from the district's capital improvement fund, Ferguson said.

The remaining money would have to come from the issuing of school bonds, which is what the district will ask permission to do in the referendum. Ferguson said if the referendum fails, they would either have to scrap the project completely or tackle as much as their budget will allow.

If approved, the bond would likely be paid back over a 15-year period. In order to keep payments low, Ferguson said the district would work on refinancing its existing bonds.

District Superintendent Dr. Zenaida Cobian is going to be talking to a group on Monday about the project in order to get feedback and take questions on the proposed project and bond.

It's part of the superintendent's new community outreach committee which she started to improve communication and interaction with people in the district

"One of the goals I have is to have a better communication with the community in the educational items that pertain to our district," she said. "There has been a lot of negativity lately, but part of my vision is to have that communication with different members of the community to ensure that we are always collaborating."

Cobian explained that the committee was not a replacement for the local school board, and they will not discuss anything to do with personnel. She just wanted a way to talk in a less rigid environment.

"At times at the meetings, there is a certain structure that communication is not the same," she said. "This is to establish communication."

The superintendent has invited several members of the community who initially reached out to her to express some kind of concern. Cobian hopes to engage even more members of the community as the committee starts to take shape.

"This is a lot of work and a lot of commitment to be made," she said. "And like everything in my career it will be evolving, and it will change."